Lawsuit Challenges Wis. Domestic Partnership Law
Social conservatives asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday to strike down the state’s new domestic partnership law, saying it violates a constitutional ban on gay marriage.
The lawsuit, filed by three members of Wisconsin Family Action, acknowledges the court will not have time to act before the law goes into effect next month but says justices should halt registrations as soon as possible.
Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle signed the law in the state budget last month. Starting Aug. 3, same-sex couples can register with counties to receive dozens of the same legal protections as married couples, including the right to inherit assets, make hospital visits and take medical leave to care for an ill partner.
Wisconsin became the first Midwestern state to enact legal protections for same-sex couples through the Legislature. It also became the first nationwide to allow domestic partnerships despite having a ban on gay marriage and any “substantially similar” relationships. See Lawsuit Challenges Wis. Domestic Partnership Law WCCO
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Wisconsin budget extends rights to gay couples
With the budget signed Monday by Gov. Jim Doyle, Wisconsin has become the first state with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions to put in place domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.
Wisconsin also is the first Midwestern state to legislatively put in place legal protections for same-sex couples, according to advocates.
But supporters of the ban still contend the creation of domestic partner benefits violates the constitutional amendment on marriage because it creates a legal status that approximates marriage — and they could file a legal challenge soon.
Starting Aug. 3, couples will be able to apply for a declaration of domestic partnership in their home counties. Partnerships would be dissolved through a termination process at the county clerk’s office.
Some counties and municipalities already
*ecognize domestic partnerships, including Dane County and the city of Milwaukee. But Maria Cadenas, executive director of the Cream City Foundation, an advocacy group on gay and transgender issues, said that for her and her partner, registering in Milwaukee only affected their gym membership.
See Wisconsin budget extends rights to gay couples
Duluth News Tribune
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Iowa Justices Hear Same-Sex Marriage Case
In a case that could make Iowa the first Midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage, the Iowa Supreme Court on Tuesday pressed lawyers for both sides with sharp questions on topics like the 4,000-year-old history of marriage and whether a ruling favoring gay couples would open the door to polygamy.
The legal core of the case, Varnum v. Brien, is whether the state’s 10-year-old law defining a “valid” marriage as only “between a male and female” violates the Iowa Constitution’s guarantees of equal treatment and due process.
A trial court judge ruled last year that the law was unconstitutional and that a dozen gay men and lesbians had been wrongly denied marriage licenses in Polk County, which includes the state capital, Des Moines. The state appealed the ruling, leading to Tuesday’s oral arguments.
But the technical details of the law and the Constitution were only part of a free-wheeling discussion lasting nearly two hours in which the seven justices repeatedly interrupted the lawyers, demanding that they parse and defend their positions.
See Iowa Justices Hear Same-Sex Marriage Case
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